Holidays in Ink Week 3

 

The Holidays in Ink Challenge certainly got me out of my comfort zone this week. I had some new art adventures, discovered more about what inspires me, and had some flops and successes. Leave me a comment and let me know how it's going for you too! If you've posted your sketches somewhere, feel free to leave a link there too. If you haven't started this challenge yet, but would like to, you can read all about it and get the prompt lists (which are totally optional) at this link.

Day 7 involved a Process Prompt I knew I would put off forever if I could: Blind Contour drawing! But I was determined to tackle it. I had beautiful, fresh flowers to inspire me for the Flowers subject prompt, so that helped ease the pain. I did the sketch with a red Bic Cristal Xtra-Bold 1.6mm ballpoint pen (Amazon Affiliate Link), and then splashed some watercolor over it with a loose approach. (Image below.) Starting with the pen in the upper left hand corner and working across the page helped me guess where I was. I also tried to keep my hand still and work around a center point of the flower, then shift my hand over for the next bloom. I confess, I did peek just a few times to be sure I was filling the page! I don't think I've done blind contours since a figure drawing class 20 years ago, and it was more fun than I thought it would be. The inaccuracies gave me some interesting and unexpected shapes to work with. I like the red lines poking through the watercolor. These Bic Cristal pens are great for sketching, with their very wide ballpoints yielding lots of variation when wanted, and intense colors. At under $5 for a set of 24, the price is hard to beat for some favorite art tools during this challenge!

Stillman and Birn Nova Trio Sketchbook Review

Immature Bald Eagle, gouache on gray paper of a Stillman & Birn Nova Trio Sketchbook

(Click title if full review does not appear.)

Megasketch Monday -- The Long, Meandering Mural Sketch (13x44")

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen filled with Platinum Carbon Black ink, 13x44" mural drawing

Here's a fun challenge for you Megasketchers. One day, I wasn't really sure what I wanted to draw. I felt like working from nature, or nature references. I wanted to do something creative, and not just copy a reference. I wanted to force myself to go right in with high contrast and ink, and for the sketch to be able to evolve.

Project Megasketch -- A Perfect Solution for Your Winter Blues

If you're an artist who doesn't like winter, maybe this post is for you! I used to hate winter. If you live in a cold climate and you're a plein air painter, you probably know what I'm talking about.  One solution for the Winter Blues is to give yourself a special winter art project to break free from your own mold.

Last winter, I embarked upon a drawing/painting/sketching challenge to see objects in a different way, and learn to capture them faster. My hope was that when I ventured out again in the spring to paint, the drawing/blocking in stage would be quicker and more accurate. I wanted to tackle subjects that I found difficult, or required a lot of maintenance and practice, such as perspective, drawing straight lines and round elipses, and being able to sketch a portrait likeness in just a few minutes. I wanted to improve on capturing the elegance and directions of tree branches, the graceful movements of animals, the bustling activity of people walking, and copy some works of the masters to explore their methods. I experimented with mixed media, and broke out all those fun art supplies that I rarely have time to use, or that have been sitting on the shelf untested.

I dubbed this venture Project Megasketch, and began it last November. I finished in April. Maybe it can help you get through the Winter Blues this year, while venturing into new art territory. For those who want to give it a try yourselves, or just follow my project along for ideas, stay tuned. Yours may have different subject matter and goals, but you can create a project that will benefit your art with the development of skills and exploration of techniques by following the process. I'll post regular prompts and examples from my project to help get you started and inspire you in the weeks and months to come. There aren't many rules to follow.

Project Megasketch Rules:

1. Complete 600 pages, minimum size 9x12"-11x15", in any media. (Or set a different number of pages and size if that's too overwhelming. Make the challenge your own.)
2. Fill each page. No cheating with half-empty pages!
3. Work for sale or publication doesn't count. (More about this below.)
4. Set dates to start and finish. It's okay to adjust that later if you have to. Life happens!
5. Challenge yourself, but have some fun too.
6. Trust the process.

Having read this far, if you're still interested, get a few sketchbooks the same size, or one enormous

Just Splashing Around

Every once in awhile, we need to just throw paint. That's what I was in the mood for when I did these two acrylic sketches! They were done from life, from potted plants in my studio. I let the paint spatter and drip, painted into it, made some drips, and just kept doing that until I had enough! This two page spread is about 14x10" in my homemade blue Pescia journal. It was painted with the same Golden Airbrush paints described in my previous post, as well as some Golden Fluid Acrylics for a bit more body to the paint.

I still have two blank pages to fill in this journal. I think my "Kinda Blue" theme played itself out. I was ready to be cheerful by the time I got to the paint-slinging phase here! I will definitely finish it up though as soon as the desire to sketch on something blue surfaces.

Thank you for following along through this journal. This week I'll be posting my review of the new Golden High Flow acrylics.

New Product Review --- Introducing Stillman and Birn Zeta

If you're a fountain pen aficionado, sketch with ink and dip pens, love Pitt Brush pens, or the coverage you get with colored pencils on smooth paper, or mixed media on a plate-like surface of extra heavy-weight paper, you're going to adore this new Zeta paper from Stillman & Birn. Think of their fabulous Epsilon surface in a thicker, more opaque version, and you'll have a pretty good idea of what this paper is all about. When I first tried the Epsilon paper, I loved it so much that I wanted an even thicker version. Now it's here! Many thanks to Stillman & Birn for making my dream come true.

I was sent some 8.5x11" sheets of the Zeta by Stillman & Birn when it first came in from the mill in France. When I first saw and felt the Zeta paper, there seemed to be such a world of possibilities for media that would work well on it, that I didn't know where to begin. I wanted to do a sketch that would showcase the potential of this smooth, slick surface. I did a few sketches in watercolor and ink of flowers, pitchers, vases and fruit, and played with assorted inks and washes. Then I decided to sketch some of the materials I'd like to use on this paper, which became the inspiration for this particular sketch. I tossed some of my favorite pens, brushes, markers, crayons and pencils into a brightly colored little pot that I normally use for my painting water, and set out some paint tubes as foreground elements.I felt the colors in the setup were strong enough to carry a strongly colored ink. Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses is one of my favorites. It is not lightfast. It is not waterproof. But there is something magical about the color, so I keep a wonderful Sheaffer 100 loaded with this ink, and it is always with me. I like the way this ink weaves the color harmony of the sketch together. I started this sketch with a few pencil lines, then went right in with ink and did the drawing, working mostly front to back. I used a wet brush to create some wash effects with the ink in shadow areas, followed by the watercolor. The last step was putting in small ink details, like some of the writing on the paint tubes, which would have run if I'd done it earlier in the process. I accidentally did this sketch on the reverse side of my sheet of dark ink test swatches, which proved to be a testament to the high opacity of this paper; no ink lines showed through at all!

The way the internal and external sizing of the paper permits the paint pigment to lie on top of the page yields a wonderful brightness in the color. The pigment does not spread out and mix together like with traditional watercolor paper, so it does take some getting used to and adapting. I'm really looking forward to breaking out my gouache on this paper. I think it will be a great match. The sketch below was done with transparent watercolor and just a bit of white gouache toward the end for the lights. But actually, the sizing allows for pretty easy lifting of pigment, so I probably could have reclaimed those lights without adding white. This sketch is 8.5x11.

I also did a sketch with an ink that I know to generally be very waterproof. Since waterproof fountain pen inks are at least partially challenged by heavy sizing, I wanted to find out if Noodler's Kung Te-Cheng would run when I added watercolor. It's one of my favorite inks, and I wanted to be sure it would stay put on this paper, no matter what else I did to it. Well, as you can see, the ink did not run at all. The sketch below was done while visiting with my friend Gingie at RiverWinds Gallery in Beacon. They have so many beautiful displays there that it's a fun place to break out a sketchbook! This one is also 8.5x11"on the Zeta paper, using a Kaweco fountain pen with a broad nib and transparent watercolor.

There is so much more to explore with this paper. I can't wait to have it in sketchbook form. Finally there is an ink-friendly paper that does not show through to the other side at all, so there will be no ghosting of images when working front and back on the pages. If you enjoy working on smooth paper, this is definitely one to check out. I know I'll be going through a lot of it. If you would like to also read another artist's review of this paper, check out this post by Jeanne Powers-Forsyth.

Spring Flowers from My Garden

11x17" across a two page spread of a Stillman & Birn Epsilon Hardbound book

Watercolor and Pitt Big Brush Pens

Sometimes it's easier to tackle a single rectangle than to take on an entire two page spread, so I really enjoy setting up grids for various series of things I want to paint when I'm short on time. You can click the image above for a larger view of the sketch.

Here's my setup below, as I finished up the final section. I have a piece of Coroplast (corrugated plastic that is nearly weightless) to which I velcro my palette and clip on my palette cups. It extends under part of the book, which weights it down so it won't fall over. That leaves me hands free.

Sketching with Mary on a Rainy Day

6x18", Watercolor

Across a two page spread in a Stillman & Birn Beta hardbound 6x9" sketchbook (prototype)

It's not always easy to find a composition that will work across a two page spread in a landscape format book. My friend Mary had this long boat sculpture that helped ease my way across the spread! She came over to sketch on a rainy day in April. We set out spring flowers from our gardens and all sorts of odds and ends and had a blast. Bleeding Hearts and Bluebells were in abundance that day.

Big News from Stillman and Birn

Two page spread from a Stillman & Birn Beta prototype hardbound sketchbook

Watercolor, 6x18" (across the spread)

Click image if you'd like to see it larger

My dream has come true. Stillman and Birn has announced on their Facebook page that they will be expanding their lineup and producing hardbound sketchbooks with their extra heavy weight 180lb Beta and Delta paper. I think I've been waiting for this moment from the first time I ever opened up a sketchbook. For a multimedia artist who loves stitchbound books that open flat, this is a major event and game-changer!

The two page spread above was done in a 6x9" landscape format prototype with Beta paper. I worked across the spread to get the 18". The pages lie so flat that you can barely see the seams, and the paper is so heavy weight that there is no ghosting from images on the other side of the page. It's fabulous!

The books will be produced in the 5.5x8.5", 8.5x11", and European A4 size portrait formats, and not in this landscape 6x9" format shown above. Nevertheless, it has been a thrill to have a sneak peek and to be able to work in one of these babies, and to finally be able to share the good news. This Dogwood Blossoms sketch that I posted a few days ago was also done in this book. I now have my paws on prototypes of the 5.5x8.5" and 8.5x11" sizes, and cannot wait for a chance to dive in!

Another Card for Mom

 

I've been sketching quite a bit lately, but haven't had enough time at the computer to get all the images photographed and posted! Today is my Mom's birthday. A few days ago, I went out and picked daffodils, and painted them in gouache on a card I made for her with some Aquarius II paper. It's a tri-fold, primed with diluted acrylic paint and some sprayed iridescent paints.

If you haven't read the recent post by Robert Genn about the importance of sketches and small studies, it's a great read, as well as a reminder of the important role this kind of work plays in the creative process and artistic development.

Flowers for Mom

Watercolor on acrylic-primed Strathmore Aquarius II watercolor paper

I made some cards to send letters to my Mom, who is over 1,000 miles away from me. I cut about a half dozen cards from Aquarius II paper, and toned a few of them with some diluted acrylic traditional and iridescent paints. The surfaces have just a bit of shimmer to them. After I took this photo, I signed the image and put a border around the sketch. I forgot to take another photo of it when it was finished, and now it's already been sent off to her.

These flowers were from a family birthday party that my husband and I attended, so it was a perfect addition to the letter telling her about the event. It does take a lot of time to make cards for people, but what a nice way to be able to share our sketches!

Sketching at Melissa's House

Private Reserve Chocolat and Private Reserve Velvet Black Inks, mixed about 3:1 

in a Platinum Preppy fountain pen, and washed with a waterbrush.

A little watercolor

Stillman & Birn Epsilon 5.5x8.5" hardbound sketchbook

My friend Melissa invited a group of us over to her house to sketch on Friday. I was delighted to see that unlike mine, her amaryllis actually had a flower stalk on it --- with a bud! I knew I had to sketch that.

Since I recently found those deer jawbones to sketch, I also had to draw this deer skull that Melissa had, which seemed to be the remainder of the head!

The Life of an Amaryllis Part II

Watercolors, Pitt Big Brush Pens, Noodler's Sequoia ink (diluted) in a Kaweco Sport BB

Stillman & Birn 5.5x8.5" Epsilon hardbound book

Page background prepared in advance with diluted fluid and iridescent acrylics

I don't know how long it's supposed to take before an amaryllis starts to flower, but mine isn't showing any interest in doing so! This is my second sketch in this Life of an Amaryllis series. You can see the first installment here.

Daniel Smith Watercolors and Palette Thoughts

New paints are so much fun! I got a bunch of colors from Daniel Smith last week --- some transparent yellows, as well as earthy reds and maroons. I also had to try their Blue Apatite and Moonglow, and Serpentine while I was at it!

I did some swatches and color comparision tests, and tried a few mixes, thinking about what might be effective for some new palette ideas I have.

I pulled out Craig Nelson's book, 60 Minutes to Better Painting. He has so many great ideas in there, and some interesting palettes too. I was admiring his analogous palette paintings and decided to put together a few analogous palettes to try out. I had some extra kids' watercolor sets that I'd popped the pigments out of. These tiny palettes are wonderful for trying new colors and ideas. I set three of them up as analogous palettes --- one red, one yellow, and one blue. That means that the entire painting should have that color in it, so for example, the blue analogous palette would have blue, a blue-green, a yellow-green, a bluish violet, and a reddish violet. The complement is used only to dull the colors, so although there would be an orange in the blue palette, it would be only for mixing purposes. Here are the three palettes and some test swatches I did:

The next day, I went to Adams Fairacre Farms in Wappinger NY. I decided to test drive the blue analogous palette in the greenhouse.

In the end, I couldn't resist adding the yellow flower centers, and I realized that an analogous palette is probably not the best choice for a flower garden or greenhouse! When I got home, I wanted to try it again, so I set up a still life and did a quick color study.

I'm afraid that for me, the jury is still out on this. Maybe I'm just not fond of all those cool colors, or maybe I like the pop of the complements too much for this limited approach. I haven't tried the red or yellow analogous palettes yet, but plan to do so soon. In the meantime, I'm going to let the color junkie in me have a little fun with some full color!

Note: The sketches above were done in a 5.5x8.5" Stillman and Birn Epsilon hardbound book. The color samples were done in an S&B Epsilon 8.5x11" hardbound book.

Tall Sketch with a Muted Palette

Watercolor in a 9x6" Stillman & Birn Gamma Hardbound sketchbook

I decided to test drive my new little mini, warm-toned, muted palette in a Stillman and Birn Gamma sketchbook, which has ivory paper. I gave myself the additional challenge of working a two page spread in a landscape format book (6x9"), holding it in a vertical orientation. This made the sketch 18" top to bottom.

I cut a paper template with a 2x6" opening beforehand, so I could peer through the window to size up potential subjects and compositions, and get an idea of how they would fit on the page. I'll keep that tucked inside the book.

Compositionally, I was really pleased with the way this glass pitcher and flowers worked in the tall format, and I am loving these colors on the ivory paper, even though I've decided that some of them will definitely be switched out of the palette. But I think you can see that it's difficult to showcase the 1:3 verticals in a digital image on a short computer screen. If it fits on the screen, it looks like a skinny ribbon of a sketch! And you enlarge it, then you can't see the whole thing. Here's an image to show you what I mean:

The logistics of actually holding the book vertically and painting this were more awkward than I'd anticipated. I clipped the book to a 12x18 piece of coroplast, which I'd cut previously to hold open some 8.5x11" sketchbooks. But this book was in fact longer than 18" when open, so it extended past the support a bit on either side. Fortunately, in this instance I was working in my kitchen, which has an enormous granite peninsula. Out on location, it would be difficult to work this vertical format.

For a painting that will be matted and framed, I think this vertical 3:1 ratio is a stunner. For sketches that will be seen mostly on a computer screen, not so much! I thought that working this way both horizontally and vertically would be an interesting exploration of 1:3 ratio compositions, and I haven't necessarily changed my mind about that yet. I'm going to pursue some horizontals this way. I can certainly see a benefit to the format for many landscape applications as studies for future paintings. More to come as I work my way through this challenge.

Wedding Flowers

My first big event of 2012 was my niece's wedding! She got married on New Year's Day, so we spent a few days in Maryland to take in the festivities. The table bouquets were white hydrangeas, assorted yellow flowers, and peacock feathers. I got to take one of them back to the hotel with me and sketched it that night during the first half of the Giant game, while the guys cheered on our home team. Even I gave in and watched the second half. Some things are a requirement!

The feathers had so much sheen to them that after I finished painting, I mixed up some of the Schmincke dry gold gouache and added some sparkle to them. Unfortunately, that isn't visible on the photo. However, you can see the coppery shimmer on the border from the iridescent acrylics that I used to prepare the page ground and border.

Inks used: Private Reserve Copper Burst and Private Reserve Sepia
Pens: Pilot Parallel 1.1mm, Pilot Petite
Winsor Newton and Daniel Smith watercolors
Winsor Newton, Schmincke and Holbein gouache
Pages prepared in advance using Golden Fluid and Golden Fluid Iridescent acrylics, and F&W Acrylic Inks
Painted across a two page spread in a 5.5x8.5" Stillman and Birn Hardcover Alpha sketchbook

Returning to Adams Fairacre Farms

I had so much fun the last time I sketched at the new Adams Fairacre Farms in Wappinger that I couldn't wait to get back there for Round 2. They must have sold a huge number of poinsettia plants, because the huge tree of them that I sketched last time was gone!

I started out the morning in their greenhouse again, sketching with Noodler's Sequoia ink and watercolors in a fine-nib fountain pen, in my Stillman & Birn Alpha 5.5x8.5" hardbound book. Because of the fairly intense color of the prepared background, I ended up switching to gouache to finish off the sketch. I always make sure to have gouache with me for emergencies like this. Since I like to travel light, I made a tiny gouache kit from a mini Altoids container and Sculpey clay.

 The holes in the clay were made with the back of a pencil. (That and the quarter should give you an idea of how tiny this is!) I was able to make 15 holes for colors. Since the Altoids tin is metal, I baked the whole thing in the oven, Sculpey, tin and all. Once it was cool, I coated the inside with a few coats of Golden GAC 100 to seal it. I'm not sure if that step was necessary or not, but since I had it on hand, I went ahead and did it. I've been using it for several months now, and it's really come in handy on a number of occasions.

The smaller text on the page was written with a 1:1 dilution of the Sequoia ink in a different, broad-nibbed pen. (A Kaweco Sport) Sometimes it just seems too saturated to me for writing, and I happen to like the more olive-like green I get when I dilute it. You can see the difference in the value and color between that green text, and the thinner, darker green of the lines for the hanging baskets of plants. The page title was written with a 2.4mm Pilot Parallel, using a red Pilot ink cartridge. Having a red calligraphy pen all set to go has turned out to be a good thing during the holiday season!

The Life of an Amaryllis Part I

You can click the image for a larger, clearer view.

A few weeks ago, I prepared two, two-page spreads with pastel ground. I just wanted to experiment with the Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastels to see what it was like. I used one for a pastel sketch that is still evolving, and I thought I'd use Wolff's Carbon Pencils for this second one. What I really like about the Wolff's pencils is that:

1. they give beautiful, rich darks, and
2. they wash with a wet brush.

This means I can play both wet and dry, and layer to my heart's content. They are a blend of graphite and charcoal that merges the smoothness of graphite with the depth of charcoal. I used only a 6B here, drawing first, then washing a bit. I went back and forth that way, then dove in for the kill with the dark accents. I should have stopped there. But I liked the rich darks so much that I started doing more and more, and well, you know how that goes. It passed that delicious al dente stage and became a bit overcooked.

Pastel ground is not friendly to fountain pens. They write fine on it, but the ground has a fine texture to it that will destroy nibs, so I did the writing with a Pilot Plumix on Borden & Riley 108 lb. Pen and Ink paper, and glued it onto the adjacent page. The purple writing was a Sharpie felt tip calligraphy pen, so I really didn't care what would happen to that one! I used that directly on the pastel ground.

I'm excited about this amaryllis series! It will be fun to explore the changes and have the chance to observe it more closely as I sketch, and it gives me something interesting to draw inside from life, for those times when I can't get out on location. I really hate working from photos.

My Favorite Potter, Marilyn Price

You can click on the image above to enlarge it and read the text.

This sketch was done in my Stillman and Birn Alpha sketchbook. The page was first colored using diluted Golden Fluid Acrylics (standard colors and iridescent) and F&W Acrylic Inks, and the border painted. The sketch was then done on location, using a Kaweco Sport fountain pen with an extra-fine nib, filled with Noodler's Midnight Blue ink. Shadow areas were washed in using a waterbrush, followed by the inclusion of watercolor to finish it off. The title was written using a Brause italic dip pen, and for the smaller text, I used a smaller-nibbed italic pen (Pilot Plumix). Both were loaded with Noodler's Luxury Blue ink --- a really nice midtone blue.

People are always asking me what materials I go out sketching with. I'll have to post another peek into my current messenger bag soon. The contents do change from time to time, depending on where I'm going, what I want to work with, whether I'll be standing or sitting, and how far I'll have to walk.

RiverWinds Gallery is loaded with work by this favorite potter of mine, Marilyn Price, at very reasonable prices. I especially love using her gorgeous pitchers as flower vases. They also have quite a few of my paintings there, and other fine art, jewelry, and handmade gift items. Definitely worth a trip for holiday shopping!

Sketching at RiverWinds Gallery

RiverWinds Gallery is located in Beacon, New York. They carry a lot of my paintings as well as work by other artists. They also have fabulous handmade pottery and jewelry, framed photographs, and other handmade gift items. This varied assortment of art is beautifully set up on shelves and cases around the gallery. If you're still out there looking for holiday gifts and close enough to Beacon to make the drive, it's a great place to do holiday shopping.

Our sketching group was invited to sketch there this past week. Having sketched there before, I was very excited about another opportunity. Four of us fell in love with this setup of sunflowers and yarn bowls (by potter Marilyn Price). We pulled up chairs around it and got to work with whatever mediums we had on hand.

I selected this page spread in my sketchbook that I'd previously prepared with lavender, pink, and blue shiny iridescent acrylics, and started out by sketching with a fountain pen filled with Noodler's Black Swan in Australian Roses. I used a waterbrush to create an ink and wash, and then splashed on some color near the end of the process. The writing was done with the same ink, which tied the color harmony together quite nicely.